Happy 2016 and happy first birthday to Pass the Cookies!
I can’t believe it has already been a year since I first posted in this little space. It was one of my goals in 2015 to keep up a blog and I have loved coming up with new ideas and posts and hearing from everyone who reads. It makes me so happy excited when someone tells me they made a recipe from the blog or likes one of the posts. All of you readers make this such a fun place to be and I can’t thank you enough for following along in this first year. As I was looking through the posts from the past year I picked a few of my favorites to spotlight the first year of Pass the Cookies.
The first on the list is 2014 in review. While this was one of the first posts and a review of the previous year, I loved looking back on 2014 and seeing how much changed in just one year. With the new adventures 2015 brought, it really makes me realize how much can happen in just one year. Here’s to 2016 being a good one!
Homemade pop tarts are one of the top recipes on my list from this past year. Inspired by the pop tarts at Ted’s bakery in DC, I was so excited to share these on the blog. They were so delicious and reminded me of all of my friends in DC :)
The Momofuku-inspired funfetti cookie dough birthday cake was one of my favorite recipes of 2015. Admittedly, it was a bit difficult at first, but the finished product was better than I imagined and absolutely worth the initial difficulty. It was so delicious and I would definitely make it again for another special occasion. Perfect for a blogiversary :)
Lavender earl grey scones were one of the more exciting recipes of the year, not because of their original post, but because the post was shared on a blog hosted by Sainsbury’s (a British grocery store) and Huffington Post UK. It was such an exciting honor to be included in the post on all things earl grey.
A fairly impromptu trip to DC to visit former college roommates turned into a fun weekend with wonderful friends, lots of walking, great markets and photos. I love DC, I love these friends, so, unsurprisingly, I love this post. The colors of all of the fruits and vegetables in the photos are so vibrant, the perfect summer stand.
I was so excited when this no-churn chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream turned out well this summer. The no-churn lemon gingersnap ice cream was great too, and both were perfect for an easy cold treat that can be made without any special equipment. It turned out perfectly creamy with delicious ribbons of chocolate and wonderful chunks of cookie dough.
I had a few posts highlighting our trip to Scotland and England this past summer. I had a difficult time choosing any of them as a favorite so I chose them all. Edinburgh and the Highlands, and everything in between. The city and the landscapes were incredible.
The same goes with the posts from England, so much beauty and incredible history that I couldn’t choose just one. Here are the posts from London, Cambridge and the boroughs of London.
The salted caramel dark chocolate hazelnut praline Paris-Brest was one of my other favorite recipes of the year. It looks impressive but isn’t as difficult as it seems, but it is still as tasty as it looks. The French know how to make a pastry, and this is a great one.
After making a few other coffee flavorings, the pumpkin spice latte was an obvious (and great) choice for the fall. It turned out wonderfully and was a wonderful drink for the season. It also helped our coffee shop budget :)
Apple cider caramel was one of the more surprisingly great recipes I made this year. I was unsure of how much apple cider flavor it would actually had, but I was wonderfully shocked at how amazing and strong the cider flavor was in this delicious caramel topping. It goes great with the ginger cookies, or any other fall treat (ice cream!).
Welcome to New York! My New York trip and half marathon was one of the most exciting trips I took last year. The pictures in this post remind me of the wonderful friends, the fun weekend, the goals we accomplished and the awesome city we got to visit together.
I loved the post from Blacksburg with all of the fall colors, gothic architecture, family and Hokie spirit. I felt like a lot of the photos captured our experiences on the trip and the beauty of Blacksburg.
These are the first gift guides I have ever made and I can’t tell you how excited I was to post them! I hope you liked them because I’m already looking forward to do them again next year. :)
Adult hot chocolate with peppermint, gingerbread and eggnog marshmallows was one my favorite posts because of the photos. Each photo made me want to grab a mug and cozy up in my pajamas. I love that the holidays could be conveyed in these photos while focusing on the delicious drink and toppings.
And last but not least, this Christmas outfit was another of my favorite posts of the year. I love the Christmas decorations in the background and how wonderful this full, green skirt is. I have to thank my wonderful husband for his help with these photos, for the Halloween outfit photos, and for all of the other support he provided throughout the year.
Thank you all for reading Pass the Cookies – I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for all of us! What were your favorites? Did I miss any of them? Did you make any of the recipes? What do you want to see this year?!
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